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Author Topic: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?  (Read 10991 times)

Offline MYCAL

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SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« on: June 30, 2007, 02:51:43 PM »
 IHAVE BEEN PLAYING BASS AT CHURCH FOR SOME TIME NOW. I DON'T WANT A SALARY I JUST WANT ENOUGH $$$ FOR EXPENCES SUCH AS MY EQUIPMENT AND SO FORTH.THE CHURCH DOES'NT GO ALONG WITH THAT EITHER.IAM ONLY ASKING $75.OO PER WEEK.THE MOM IS BEING PAID $400.00 PER WEEK.WHATS YOUR OPINION ON  MUSICIANS BEING PAID IN THE CHURCH ??????

Offline fbass

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #1 on: June 30, 2007, 02:54:39 PM »
i dont think a musician should be paid unless he knows where it says he should in the bible....... please tell me the mom is not the church mother and if she is does she do anything besides sit in the special chair lol

Offline mr.dj

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #2 on: June 30, 2007, 03:07:04 PM »
MOM=Minister Of Music
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Offline Basso Gruvitas

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #3 on: June 30, 2007, 05:15:37 PM »
Some churches pay their musicians, some don't.  It's a matter of submitting to the philosophy of the church.  If you see playing bass in a church as a gig, then find a church that pays their musicians.

BTW, my home church does not pay me for when I play there.
Child Prodigy past his prime

Offline Maestro87

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #4 on: June 30, 2007, 05:59:09 PM »
They probably do not see you as a member of the staff at the church.  It is not wrong to ask because you still have to live and depending on how much time and effort you put into your playing at your church then you will need some compensation down the road.  Try and help them understand how much work you do but realize that once you get on a payroll you will not be a volunteer anymore and there will most likely be some things that will be expected of you even more than before.  Keep asking and if the Lord leads you to step down or change churches then do what you gotta do.
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Offline MikeGee

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #5 on: June 30, 2007, 07:23:01 PM »
I would not play for a church that would not pay me if someone else is getting paid soley to play an instrument or sing. IF no one is getting paid then I'd be glad to do it as a gift. I think it's a matter of can the hurch afford to pay . I think the only rule should be if you pay one you pay all.

Offline ghodom

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #6 on: June 30, 2007, 08:06:01 PM »
Hi, I just signed to this site and I was browsing and this caught my eye...over the years I have seen churches hire musicians to play and pay them outrages salaries, $600.00 a Sunday, they never attended Bible study or anything other than choir pratice.. there is nothing wrong with giving a love offering, but when the focus is about a pay check and not ministry and they are not a member, the Pastor might want to rethink before he reacts. I believe that if the church has staff positions and you pay them, then you certainly need to do likewise about your musicians. The church need ministrels, annointed and can get the vision of the house, in the church that I attend my son is the pastor a young man and believes those whom God has ordained to be a part of the ministry will not come looking for a salary but to be a part of what God is doing in the Ministry. We are raising up Ministrels from within the church, those who have the desire to play, we do pay a music teacher every week to give lessons to our inspiring Ministrels. It is a priviledge to serve God, not a favor...Music touches the heart of God!!!!!

Offline ssabass

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #7 on: June 30, 2007, 09:30:32 PM »
hello my brothers in christ. I am new to this sight, and I just want to say hello to everyone. well my thoughts on this subject is, I think in certain circumstances, anyone that give his or her time & effort should be compensated. I believe if the church that you play at is your home church, & you go every sunday I believe that person should not be paid, because then it becomes a part of your worship to the father,  unless thier is some traveling involved, it is still part of your worship But, now were talking about  more than just learning a few songs, now were talking, gas, food ect. now if you have been recruited to play at a church, than yes  you should be compensated. how much  should be based on expereince, and knowlegde. But paid or not paid, it should always be about worshipping the father.

Offline 6stringapprentice

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #8 on: July 01, 2007, 03:51:10 AM »
The way i see it is that I am a member of choir. The only way that I would feel that I should be paid if the entire choir or music section was being paid. Now on the other hand if the church wants to give me a compensation for dedication and the time I would have no problem. Because lets be honest when it is time to travel and most times the choir can hop on a church van and we usually are loading equipment into personal vehicles and driving. I would never demand money from the church I worship at. I think that musician payrolls are steering a lot of young musicians in the wrong direction.
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Offline Quebass86

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #9 on: July 01, 2007, 06:04:09 AM »
Wow! You have hit a sore subject at my church. I mentioned in another venue that myself along with another bass player and lead do not get paid, however the two drummers, organist, keyboard and MOM get salaries. I am not doing it for the money but it is frustrating when we have to learn the same music, be at the same rehearsals, etc. Plus when we show up we have our own instruments which we have to maintain in order to play which costs money. They are considered staff and we are considered volunteers. The volunteers are more reliable and accountable than the staff are. That is the frustrating part. How would you feel when neither drummer shows up and the lead or bass player has to play drums and yet the drummer(s) still get their check? Or the organist doesn't show up for rehearsal or Sunday Service but still gets his check? I have been playing for 6 years and actually I am past that because as a volunteer I do just that. I love my church but I have cut back on all of the services that I used to do. The sound, audio/video people get paid, along with a number of other positions. It is funny because we have never asked for anything but when we built our new church a few years ago they said we are going to get you guys paid just hang on a minute. Well it has been 3years since. I love playing for God and I love playing the bass. It has given me exposure and allowed me to play with and meet some wonderful people at other events, churches and services. My rewards and Blessings have from other areas. We have about 2800 memebers and some of the churches with 200 members pay their musicans. When I go and just sit in with some of my friends that are MOM at other churches they go out of their way to try and give me something and when they do I usually give it back in a love offering. It is just the thought and appreciation.......
May God's Grace & Mercy smile upon you!

Offline nickjrnz

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2007, 06:10:43 AM »
whats up from down under !!!
:)
If your making an album and selling it, I think that the cost of the musicians/choir every1 that contributed should recieve something yes only because the end product is that someone is making money from a combined  effort, unless your doing like a charity aid thing or something like that.
 playing in church, you wnat people there that are their because they are called ,have a heart to see worship go to a new level and contribute to the vision of your local church and give back what God what he has placed in your hand to give him the glory and see people won. I think we need to be careful that we dont get the attitude well Im not going to do it unless I recieve $$$. (although hey we all have bills to pay but our dependancy is on God not the Money we may recieve @church. Hey if its in a churches budget fine... but if your going to church and dont want to contribute because "they dont pay me... enough... (whats enough) check the heart ???

Freely you have recieved... so freely give. MAT 10.8

"free will" .....offering....... is a some words that comes to mind.

Love u all peace

Nick

Offline Ken Felder

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #11 on: July 01, 2007, 07:44:06 AM »
i havent been on in a while but this subject caught my attention. When getting paid by a church they will expect you to be every where.
like following the pastor all over. some musician are not even a member of the church thats paying them.  i agree with Basso Gruvitas if you want to get paid find a church that will pay you.

Offline DWBass

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #12 on: July 01, 2007, 07:49:43 AM »
Wow! You have hit a sore subject at my church. I mentioned in another venue that myself along with another bass player and lead do not get paid, however the two drummers, organist, keyboard and MOM get salaries. I am not doing it for the money but it is frustrating when we have to learn the same music, be at the same rehearsals, etc. Plus when we show up we have our own instruments which we have to maintain in order to play which costs money. They are considered staff and we are considered volunteers. The volunteers are more reliable and accountable than the staff are. That is the frustrating part. How would you feel when neither drummer shows up and the lead or bass player has to play drums and yet the drummer(s) still get their check? Or the organist doesn't show up for rehearsal or Sunday Service but still gets his check? I have been playing for 6 years and actually I am past that because as a volunteer I do just that. I love my church but I have cut back on all of the services that I used to do. The sound, audio/video people get paid, along with a number of other positions. It is funny because we have never asked for anything but when we built our new church a few years ago they said we are going to get you guys paid just hang on a minute. Well it has been 3years since. I love playing for God and I love playing the bass. It has given me exposure and allowed me to play with and meet some wonderful people at other events, churches and services. My rewards and Blessings have from other areas. We have about 2800 memebers and some of the churches with 200 members pay their musicans. When I go and just sit in with some of my friends that are MOM at other churches they go out of their way to try and give me something and when they do I usually give it back in a love offering. It is just the thought and appreciation.......
Wow, not show up and still get paid?? How does that work?? And how are they deemed pros and you deemed a volunteer?? Wow! I'd have to pray hard on that one!!

My take is, if there is a budget, then all musicians should get paid equally with the exception of the MOM who should get a little extra if they are productive, IMO. I would not expect any small church to be able to afford to pay their musicians. The big churches that have huge memberships are more apt to having budgets.
"Never Leave Home Without Your Groove On" :)

Offline floaded27

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #13 on: July 01, 2007, 04:07:22 PM »
i guess gotta chime in on this. this is one of the fastest growing threads ive seen on LGM.
this pay thing gets outta hand because left unchecked it breeds an attitude of greed and this "everybody owes me" attitude that starts to destroy the image of (1) musicians and (2) christians (because thats what we're all supposed to be and not just the church people are watching)

the way i see it is that there should be no fixed salary. too many times have i seen our organist come in at the last 5 minutes of rehearsal during the week and show up late on sunday morning, but lookin for his money every week. and dont let there be an error with the check. and im like, "why should u get paid for what u didnt do?" and its not like our drummer whos 14, who cant come unless his mother brings him or comes with his older brother, this is a grown man who works for a living. so where's the responsibility? there is none because whatever he do, he gettin paid. dont come to bible study, dont give offering, barely pay tithes, but u want ur money like the church owe you. RIDICULOUS.

our drummer he's a kid. i dont mind that they pay him. they dont pay him nowhere near what the organist gets. but i think what he gets teaches him lessons as he's growing. I try personally to show him how to manage his money and be right with God and not just about playin and getting paid. and automatically i think a drummer should be first compensated for the cost of equipment (like sticks which are a frequent expense) on top of anything else the church wants to give.

me, as the bass player, i dont get paid at all. and i dont WANT to be paid. for 1 i dont need it (the Lord blessed me with a good 9-5) and (2) i dont feel i deserve it. what extra am i doing that i need to be paid? i have to attend every rehearsal - i was already there being on the choir and i would be if im not playing. i gotta be at every service - already did that. i gotta learn the songs - thats just practice time that i was already doing before as i was learning to play. i gotta pay for my instrument and equipment - if i didnt play in the church i would have to do that anyway and was doing so before i was. so what extra would i be doing when playing for my church that i wouldnt be doing not playing? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. so there's no logical reason to get paid. i believe because i'm playing for God, God is giving me blessings that no amount of money the church could give me could match.

my thing is i dont have a problem with a musician being compensated, but every musician that does get paid should act like its a blessing, not something that is owed them. and once u realize u doing this for God and not just for money, God will definitely bless you in your gift and you will give more of yourself too. and if you're going to get paid, learn to be a professional about it. if the boss at your job asked u to stay a bit late or come in a bit early to finish up a project you'll do it, but let the choir director ask to go over the song one more time and its 7:59 and rehearsal is from 6-8.

thats not everything i would like to say about the subject but i'll leave it at that. as for MYCAL's question, i think that if a musician wants to be paid simply to cover expenses, then i think the church should comply. but since equipment expenses arent too frequent (u cant include travel expenses, thats ridiculous) maybe u can get them to compensate u for expenses as they occur, rather than to pay towards that on a regular basis.
For my God... let "Golden Axe" prevail.

Offline bigneil

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #14 on: July 01, 2007, 04:52:02 PM »
[ if the boss at your job asked u to stay a bit late or come in a bit early to finish up a project you'll do it, but let the choir director ask to go over the song one more time and its 7:59 and rehearsal is from 6-8.]
[/quote]

I have been put in this situation many times before and if I have something else to do then I have something else to do. My boss asks me to stay over and come in early all the time and alot of the time projects need someone to stay over or come in early so it can be completed, but if my family is involved i'm not staying over and I have proven that many times. On the same hand I have walked out of rehearsals because my family comes first. I lost my daughter a couple of months ago and some of the time that she was in the hospital I was being "faithful to my church" by being at every rehearsal and every service instead of being with my daughter. So I don't care who asks if there is a reason for me to leave when others want to stay I will leave. I hear that comment all of the time from people about the job and church and it really gets under my skin.
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Offline floaded27

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #15 on: July 01, 2007, 06:47:25 PM »
So I don't care who asks if there is a reason for me to leave when others want to stay I will leave. I hear that comment all of the time from people about the job and church and it really gets under my skin.

its not like that. and i didnt mean it like that. if you have a legitimate reason then thats more than ok. its God, family, then the church. im talkin about when u wont put in that extra effort/time at all simply because ur not paid to. its ok to refuse, but not all the time ONLY because ur not getting extra money for it.

i do apologize if my comment bothered you. it was not my intention at all. i do hope my clarification alleviated that.
For my God... let "Golden Axe" prevail.

Offline Quebass86

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2007, 12:08:03 AM »
I agree my brother, I too am very Blessed to have a great career and a job that pays me well. GOD has Blessed me and my family and the money is not needed. I would give it back. I never asked my church for anything, they have on many times said "we will get you guys taken care of". I would be fine with a "play/pay" method. I do play for the love and am greatful to have the opportunity. I have only been playing for 6 year and never imagined myself playing with and for some of the people and places I have already. As a volunteer I do just that. If I have something else going on then I take care of that. I don't like it though when I get checked for not being there and then they tell me I should take care of my home church, well it does work both ways. I went and played at a small church where my frat brother is the minister of music. I went to their rehearsal and played on that sunday because I enjoy playing and learning from other musicians and they don't trip. They wanted to give me $100 that sunday for playing with them. I gave it back to them to put towards their new church they will soon be building. As the old folks used to say, "it's the thought that counts" and "it is nice to be appreciated".

Because of my exposure at church I am playing for several other gospel venues that pay me well. So my Blessings have come through another resevoir. Our MOM is full time, that is his job so he is at the church from 8-5 everyday with the Pastor and the other church staff ministers who are full time, but some of the others that don't show up or come in late or can't make it to an afternoon event, or don't call to say they won't be there, I am sorry that is just not right. The lead guitar has to put down his instrument to play drums, but the drummer will get his check in full come the 1st and the 15th.

Anyway, as it has been said by me and others, I play for GOD  and his Glory.
May God's Grace & Mercy smile upon you!

Offline dhagler

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2007, 05:57:48 AM »
I agree with MikeGee that if one is paid then all should be paid.  Not necessarily at the same salary, mind you.  I started out playing for nothing and, after a year and an overhyped search for a keyboardist and a drummer, the church finally got around to considering whether or not I should be paid.  I give back half of the whopping $100 a month they give me.

Let's turn the page...should church musicians and ministers of music be under contract?

Offline Keys410

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2007, 08:39:56 AM »
Man this is a touchy subject. I first start by saying I don't get paid to play in church. I am the MOM, organ, keyboard,drummer, and bass player(Yes, I play them all in a sunday). I have discussed with my Bishop regarding salary but the church doesn't have it(It's a small church). I think alot of church mess themselves up when they do not pay musicians fairly. I know someone who was a Pastors son and drummer. Keyboard player was getting $200 and he was getting $75. Just not cool. I think if you pay one then you need to pay all FAIRLY. If someone leaves because they started getting paid less so others can get paid....Well they were there for the wrong reason and someone can step right in that has the right spirit.
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Offline Quebass86

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Re: SHOULD MUSICIANS BE PAID IN CHURCH AND HOW MUCH?
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2007, 09:09:14 AM »
As mentioned earlier, my MOM is full-time staff so he is under a contract along with the other "paid" musicians (keyboard, organist, and drums). We have HR committee at church and they have an employee handbook, etc.

They have to submit in for vacation time or to be off just like a 8-5. It is funny how things work because the "volunteers" are all involved in other church ministries like teaching 9th-10th grade youth Bible Study, or working in the Marriage Ministry or just attending sunday school and Bible Study, while the "paid musicians" well, let's just say most of the time if they are not playing, they are no where to be found. 3 of them came to play and then eventually became members but you don't see them if they don't play.....Hmmmmm!!!
May God's Grace & Mercy smile upon you!
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